Nuit Blanche! One of my favorite nights of the year.

So, I know we are all still waiting for that tutorial I promised, and I promise it will be up soon. But, in the meantime I just had to write about Nuit Blanche!

Nuit Blanche translated from french literally means "White Night" or "All-nighter".
Apparently, its exact beginning is disputed between Paris, St Petersburg, and Berlin, but, taking elements from all of these, the idea of a night-time festival of the arts has spread around the world since 1997, taking hold of Toronto and Montreal, Madrid, Lima and Leeds.
A Nuit Blanche will typically have museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open free of charge, with the center of the city itself being turned into a de facto art gallery, providing space for art installations, performances, themed social gatherings, and other activities.

Toronto describes it as "a free, annual all-night contemporary art thing" and it is spread out over the downtown (Toronto) core.


This year there were roughly 500 artists participating with upwards of 130 projects to discover.

My good friend and I went together and saw some amazing art exhibits/installations and a random (but wonderful!) traveling dance performance.
It really is a good thing that this event is from dusk until dawn! If you want to see even half of the exhibits, you are going to need the whole night and maybe then some.
I would suggest biking around rather than walking, busing or driving. It's the fastest and cheapest way to get around easily.

I've just been blown away by the creative minds in this city and we are so very lucky to have such a fantastic event. I wish there were a Nuit Blanche every month! It's so much fun biking around, finding new and inspiring things to look at and meeting new and interesting artists and admirers alike.

I really can't wait for that lighting bolt of sheer brilliance to strike me and tell me just what it is that I will be presenting at a future Nuit Blanche. Until then I'll just blog, keep my fingers busy doing what I do and scratch my head.

Here is a link to the archives of Nuit Blanche past, featuring fantastic photos and comments from some of those who visited the many exhibits of the night.
http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/archives.shtml

Is there a Nuit Blanche in your city? Come visit ours!
Here's the website so you can start planning your visit to Toronto's Scotiabank Nuit Blanche :)
http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/home.shtml